Oak Park man is county’s 25th cold-related death

A west suburban man is Cook County’s 25th cold-related death of the season, authorities said Monday.

Lester L. Harrison, 77, was found in the 100 block of Elgin Avenue in Forest Park after a neighbor called police about 6:54 a.m. and said someone was lying down on a front lawn, officials said.

Harrison, of the 300 block of Wisconsin Avenue in Oak Park, was taken to Rush Oak Park Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:15 a.m. Sunday, according to the Cook County medical examiners’ office.

His daughter had reported him missing just after 3 a.m. that morning, Forest Park Police Deputy Chief Tom Aftanas said.

An autopsy found Harrison died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease and hypothermia due to cold exposure, the medical examiner’s office said. His death was ruled an accident.

His death is the 25th confirmed cold-related fatality this season in Cook County, according to the medical examiner’s office. During the 2013-14 winter season, there were 32 confirmed cold-related deaths.